


Hail! To The Victors Valiant!

by iaminarage



Category: Glee
Genre: College AU, Football, M/M, Sports, University of Michigan, totally self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-26 17:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iaminarage/pseuds/iaminarage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somehow Kurt allows Blaine and Finn to drag him to a college football game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hail! To The Victors Valiant!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a College AU set at the University of Michigan. Only Finn and Kurt knew each other before they got to college although elements of canon are preserved. Finn and Kurt grew up in Michigan rather than Ohio. You don’t need to know anything about Michigan or Football for this to work! I know that everyone is groaning because I set it at Michigan and it probably sounds like I set it there because Darren Criss went to Michigan. In reality, I set it there because I went to Michigan. I couldn’t have written this fic without setting it at the school that I know and love. 
> 
> The title is from the Michigan fight song.

Kurt was seriously reconsidering every decision that had led him to be standing in front of a random house on State Street watching Finn, Sam, Puck and Lauren shotgun beers. They’d been on their way to Michigan Stadium for the football game when Finn and Puck had seen someone they knew, and everyone had been forced to stop.

“Why did I let you talk me into this?” Kurt said, turning to Blaine and squeezing his hand.

Blaine laughed. “Well, first of all, you accepted my very well reasoned argument that football is one of the most famous parts of the experience of being a Michigan student and, even if you decide you hate it, you should experience it at least once. Second, I’m adorable, and you can’t say no to me.”

Kurt shook his head. Blaine was right, although it was the second point more than the first that had gotten him in trouble. His step brother and their friends had been trying to convince Kurt to go to a football game since their freshman year. Kurt had successfully avoided the games for two years despite similar arguments. Then, early the previous February, Sam had brought a friend of his from Super Hero Club and Kurt had completely fallen for the sweet, dorky, gentlemanly music major who just happened to be a huge football fan. He’d said no to his brother and no to his friends, but he couldn’t say no to Blaine.

When Finn, Sam, Puck, and Lauren finished their beers (Lauren had won and shouted “In your face, Puckerman” at her boyfriend), Mercedes grabbed Sam’s arm and told him it was time to go. The guys, including Mike and Blaine, would happily stand in the yard talking to anyone they knew until it was almost time for the game, but Mercedes, who went with them every week, insisted that they needed to get to the game before people started to crowd into their section. The seats at Michigan Stadium were technically assigned, but Mercedes had told Kurt that it didn’t always matter. People would drag their friends who had seats in other parts of the student section over to sit with them and, if you were late enough, you’d have to wedge yourself into your spot. That didn’t sound like Kurt’s idea of a good time—not that any of it did—so he was with Mercedes: they needed to keep moving.

The crowd got more and more concentrated as they kept moving down State Street. By the time they turned onto East Hoover, the pedestrians had taken over the middle of the road so that cars couldn’t drive at all. Kurt found the congestion pretty overwhelming. Everyone was shouting and screaming. Kurt was pretty sure he could hear the marching band, and people kept breaking out into a call and response “Go Blue” chant.

His friends all seemed pretty happy with the madness. Blaine was grinning and answering every shout with a corresponding “Go Blue.” Kurt had to admit he was pretty adorable. His smile was infectious and his Michigan apparel was perfectly Blaine. He was wearing a maize Michigan sweater, a blue checked button up, very tight jeans, and a Michigan bow tie. Kurt’s only concession to his friends’ demands that he show school spirit was to tie a Michigan scarf around his neck.

“Why is Sam wearing maize and blue stripped overalls?” Kurt asked Mercedes, who was watching in amusement as her boyfriend tried to get Finn to give him a piggy back ride.

“Why is Finn wearing blue knee high socks? Why did Puck spray his Mohawk yellow? It’s how they show their school spirit!” Mercedes answered.

Rachel sighed and looked from Finn and Sam to Mike. “Tina, why did you get the only normal boyfriend?”

Mike grinned and draped an arm around Tina as they walked. “She’s just got fabulous taste!”

Tina leaned over to Kurt and the girls and whispered, “The first time I saw him dance shirtless, I knew he was The One.”

They all nodded along. Mike’s abs were basically legendary. A second later, Kurt realized the implications of what Rachel had said. “Hey, wait! My boyfriend is totally normal!”

The girls all managed to roll their eyes at him simultaneously. “Kurt, please. No one wants to see you lie to yourself. There is nothing normal about that,” Lauren said pointing over at Blaine who had wandered up the street from them, found a man playing a guitar, and gotten the man to help him lead a group of frat boys in an acoustic rendition of [The Victors](http://youtu.be/4TVcKYpZrj0?t=2m3s), the University of Michigan fight song.

Kurt had to admit that might not be normal for most people. “At least he’s wearing actual pants,” he said, giving Rachel a pointed look. Finn was wearing basketball shorts. This didn’t make any sense to Kurt since they were going to a football game, but Finn had informed him that the basketball shorts were lucky.

Not wearing real pants seemed to be much more common than Kurt would have expected at a football game, and it was mostly the guys. Several of the frat boys Blaine was singing to were wearing University of Michigan pajamas, they’d passed a whole group of guys wearing the same overalls as Sam and basically nothing else, and just now they were walking behind a man in what appeared to be a full body spandex suit that covered even his face, in half blue and half maize, of course. The more Kurt saw of sports fans, the more convinced he became that theatre majors were easily the saner of the two groups.

Once Blaine’s musical break was over, they kept moving through the crowded street until they turned the corner and could see the stadium. Kurt saw it all the time, but he had to admit that walking up to it from this direction in a crowd of Michigan fans was pretty impressive. It was absolutely enormous. “Largest stadium on the continent,” Blaine whispered into his ear as he took Kurt’s hand again.

The whole process of getting in to the stadium took much longer than seemed reasonable to Kurt, and once they were finally inside and had found their seats another issue became clear to him. “Why is no one sitting down?” he asked Blaine.

Blaine handed his ticket to the usher and started to climb up the stadium. “They only sit down at half time.”

“Why?” Kurt asked. It seemed ridiculous to him. They weren’t going to see any better standing than they would if everyone was sitting.

Blaine shrugged. “School spirit?”

By then they had climbed into their seats, just a few rows above the entrance, and were looking out at the field as the team warmed up. “You ended up with a perfect fall day!” Sam said to Kurt.

Sam was right about that. The weather was chilly enough that they could all wear sweaters and hoodies if they chose but not nearly cool enough that they would be uncomfortable being outside for four hours which was, by the way, an insanely long time for a sporting event.

Kurt didn’t end up hating the game. The band was actually pretty awesome. He had no idea how they made such complex formations, and the baton twirlers clearly knew their stuff. The football game was a football game, but Kurt had to admit the crowd made it more fun. He played along and high fived everyone when Michigan scored. He laughed along with the girls at Finn and Puck’s shouted curses and the detailed instructions to the team that Blaine whispered under his breath.

Once, just after half time, the opposing team’s kicker missed a fairly easy field goal, and Finn turned to Kurt to say, “Too bad it would be illegal to play Single Ladies over the loudspeaker during a kick! You could teach him a thing or two.” Everyone gave Kurt suspicious looks for this and he sighed, promising to explain later.

Michigan ended up winning the game by a wide margin. As the clock wound down, Kurt stood slightly behind Blaine with his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders and his cheek resting on Blaine’s hair. Blaine was leaning in to him with one hand on Kurt’s crossed arms. Kurt had a feeling that he wouldn’t volunteer to spend his Saturdays at many more football games, but he could see why Blaine was so happy here.

Kurt scanned the cheering crowd as the game ended and the Michigan players ran over to the student section and joined them all in a few rounds of the “[It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine](http://youtu.be/_LDGz4hBXSo)” chant. Sports definitely weren’t his thing, but he did get why Blaine and the rest of his friends loved being in a huge group of people who all loved their school, because Kurt loved it, too.

He had never expected to, really. He’d been planning on going to New York right after high school. He was only planning on putting in one application, to the New York Academy of the Dramatic arts, but his father had told him to apply to a few more schools and had recommended Michigan. Burt’s point had been that being an actor would be hard enough without a mountain of debt hanging over his head. Why would he go to New York and rack up loans at a fancy private school when he could go to one of the top musical theatre schools in the country and pay in-state tuition?

Kurt had accepted his father’s point and applied to Michigan and a few other schools as backups but he’d still been sure he was going to NYADA. He’d gotten accepted to Michigan first, though, and taken a visit out there with his dad, Carole, and Finn. Somehow, as soon as he’d stepped on to campus, he’d known he was home. The incredible professors, the amazing list of upcoming productions, and the beautiful performance spaces had all grabbed him and refused to let go. But it hadn’t been just that. There was something about the energy at Michigan, the pure, unadulterated _college_ of it all that had felt like something he wanted to experience.

By the time his NYADA acceptance had come, Kurt had already known he’d turn them down. He knew that New York was where he was going to be eventually, but he had his whole life to be there. He only had four years of college, and Michigan had seemed like the right choice.

After more than two years, Kurt had no doubt that he’d been right. Michigan was huge and could be overwhelming at times, but his department was small and everyone in it somehow managed to be pretty awesome. He’d formed a pretty great group of friends, and he’d met Blaine. They’d been dating less than a year, but Kurt already felt like Blaine knew him better than he’d ever imagined that someone could. They seemed to just get each other, even if they didn’t always see eye to eye on things like football.

Kurt’s idea of school spirit had more to do with going to every school production he could, staying up late to work on sets, and gushing about Michigan every time prospective students were on campus, but he could see why a giant crowd of people singing the fight song appealed to Blaine. With his boyfriend leaning against him and his friend around him, Kurt couldn’t help but agree with the chant: it really was great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I just really love Michigan, okay?


End file.
